For the new year, I intend to raise my miracle meter. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a miracle in two ways: an extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs, such as the healing miracles described in the Gospels, or an outstanding or unusual event, thing, or accomplishment.
Miracles have often had religious significance for me, such as the biblical accounts of Jesus turning water into wine, walking on water, healing a paralyzed man, and restoring a young girl to life. However, when I think about these stories, I feel I am far from the miraculous.
But when I read the second definition, an extremely outstanding or unusual event, thing, or accomplishment, and look back on my life, I see how my life has been full of miracles. Among the miracles I've experienced are: Immigrating to the US with my mother and sisters to build a new life, starting my own family, discovering a Buddhist temple and beginning a meditation practice, escaping a three-year abusive relationship I thought I'd never leave, gaining acceptance into graduate school, surviving a serious car accident, meeting my husband online, welcoming my healthy daughter despite complications during childbirth, finding a home within walking distance of my daughter's school, relocating to Paris during the Covid pandemic, securing employment when I needed it, connecting with my spiritual and energy healing teacher, becoming an energy healer. The more I reflected, the longer my list became.
At the end of the list, I was filled with wonder. My life has been a tapestry of miracles – overcoming personal challenges, unexpected opportunities and synchronicities, moments of joy, and even random acts of kindness from others that changed the course of my day. My miracle meter gradually increased, and I felt grateful for my life. Then I realized I was having a miraculous moment in this very moment, a moment of transformation of thought and an increased belief in the miraculous!
While I may not be able to turn water into wine like Jesus, cultivating wonder and gratitude has brought me closer to the miraculous. I am determined to hold onto this perspective as I enter 2025, even as the world around me sometimes tries to dim the light of the extraordinary.
For the new year, I encourage you to believe in the miraculous. Reflect on your life and write a list of the following experiences:
Unexpected Opportunities: Have you encountered opportunities that seemed to come out of nowhere?
Overcoming Challenges: Have you faced significant obstacles and found unexpected strength or support to overcome them?
Acts of Kindness: Have you experienced random acts of kindness from others, or have you been able to offer kindness that resulted in unanticipated positive outcomes?
Moments of Joy and Awe: Have you witnessed or experienced moments of awe in nature, art, music, or human connection?
As Albert Einstein said, “There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” I choose the latter. Life is brimming with miracles. By choosing to live as if each moment is a miracle, I open myself to a deeper level of consciousness and experience the extraordinary in the everyday.
As you start the new year, what miracles would you like to invite into your life, into this world?
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